This Can't Be Good
by SweetKisses9
Summary: Gaara is put under Sakura's care and protection. Their feelings grow and Sasuke gets jelous...finally. But now Sakura has 2 deadly ninja fighting for her. Well... THIS can't be good. GaaraxSakura Please Read and Review
1. The last straw

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. I wish I was one of them though. : P

Background

Sasuke has been back for 2 years now. Since he came back willingly, his punishment wasn't AS severe and over about half a year ago.

Everyone already forgave him for the whole "abandoning the village" thing and welcomed him back as a friend.

Sakura was now much stronger and she was an amazing ninja as well as medic nin. And she was no longer his annoying Fangirl, though she did still think she loved him.

* * *

It was another day in Kanoha. Nothing special really, except that Sakura wasn't the same today. She woke up feeling different but she couldn't really figure out why. Maybe a little irritated but she just waved it off as a lack of sleep.

"**Or that stupid bastard who called us annoying and weak again! He hasn't done that in 2 years! What the hell did we do to disserve it?" **Inner Sakura growled.

"Whatever. I don't wanna talk about it" Outer Sakura shooed the inner away.

_Flashback_

_Last night Sakura and all her friends were gathered in a bar to celebrate Ino's 18th birthday. She just came back from a mission and everyone was having a blast! They rented out the whole bar for themselves for the night. Half way through though, Ino disappeared somewhere with Shikamaru and didn't come back for an hour. (A bit disheveled at that. Haha) There was lots of dancing and singing and a few drinking contests as well. Sakura couldn't hold her alcohol well so she didn't join those. Although apparently she drank more then she thought. By the end she was way more then a 'little' tipsy. Her speech was slurred and she couldn't really hold on her own too feet that well, let alone manage a balanced walk. Again Ino and Shikamaru disappeared into some corner. Neji and Tenten were starring intently at each other (which made sakura just want to push them together and say "Jeez, just get together already!") Naruto took the tipsy Hinata home. (Good thing Naji was too "occupied" to notice) and everyone else was still in full strength having a great time. Sasuke, looking at Sakura as she giggled and hic-uped, decided it was time for them to go. He volunteered to take her home and she seemed a little too happy about it, she even blushed, which she hasn't done in a while around him. Then again, it could just be the alcohol in her blood running wild. Sasuke and Sakura stood up and made their way to the door, after a round of hugs, good-byes and screams of "Happy Birthday again Ino!" into the empty air. They didn't quite make it there. After the first 3 steps Sakura's feet gave in and she almost fell face first. Sasuke quickly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her tightly against her with a low growl. _

"_What is wrong with this girl. She has never been this drunk before! She KNOWS she can't take alcohol well yet she kept drinking!"_

_As they were walking through the streets, his thoughts were interrupted when Sakura giggled and latched herself on to his arm. _

"_Ne Sasuke-kun, it's great to have a handsome, strong man around" she purred into his ear as she drew small circles on his chest "isn't it?" She again giggled. After a few more minutes of walking they were coming close to Sakura's house. Here, AGAIN, her drunken feet decided to fumble and she tripped on her high stiletto heels, almost bringing Sasuke down as well. Sasuke growled. _

"_This is the 9__th__ time in such a short distance! If she does this anymore, I won't have an arm left tomorrow from so much pulling and holes in my feet from her stupid shoes!" Sasuke mentally complained. _

"_You're so annoying and weak" he told Sakura._

"_Oh crap. That sounded way colder then I wanted it to" he mentally cursed. "I haven't said that to her in more then 2 years now. Well since its true, but that's beside the point" Sasuke stared at her. Her eyes looked really hurt and he expected her to cry. He was about to apologize, or (since Uchiha's don't really apologize) at least tell her that what he really meant was that it was kind of funny how the powerful Sakura was so weak on her feet after only a few drinks and how the reason she was annoying was because her soft whispers and purrs in his ear were stirring up something inside of him he didn't really understand. But he never got around to his explanation. Sakura abruptly let his arm drop and bowed her head, when she came back up she had a huge smile plastered on her face. "I'm sorry Sasuke-kun. I truly am. I didn't mean to be like that. Thanks for walking me home. Good night." And the door closed on him. Well, maybe she won't be too upset since she's drunk and won't remember it in the morning. With that though constantly repeating in his head, Sasuke headed home. _

_End of Flashback_

Sakura took long, relaxing, bubble bath, washed her long, silky hair, and then decided to curl it again since a long time. She looked at herself in the mirror and she suddenly wanted a little more change for herself. She went into her HUGE closet (being a great ninja and the 2nd in charge of the whole hospital – after Tsunade of course, has its perks!) After searching for 40 min. Sakura pulled out a black mini skirt (she put on mini, MINI shorts under), and a fish-net black shirt, under the shirt she wore a black bra with gold dragon designs. On her feet she wore sandals that laced to her knees. In her hair she wore a thin, black headband with a little bow on the side. She painted her long nails a rich, gold color. To top off her look she added some mascara, black eye liner, and a touch of strawberry lip gloss. Again she checked herself in the mirror. To say that she looked HOT would be a big understatement! Although this outfit was DEFINITELY not regulation appropriate, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to care for once.

"**We'll show him what he lost!" **inner Sakura whispered intensely so that the outer didn't hear.

She went down stairs and grabbed some breakfast, she wasn't in the greatest of moods.

Sasuke and Naruto were standing around waiting for their sensei. He was 2 hours late! And Sakura was nowhere in sight either. She shouldn't still be asleep after her hangover since training was starting 3 hours later then usual. Of course it's because Kakashi was at the party too and participated in every drinking contest and then some.

Then a poof sounded and Kakashi appeared perched on the railing of the bridge.

"Yo. Sorry I'm late I got lost…."

"Liar!!" Naruto interrupted him.

_Isn't there usually TWO voices yelling at me?" _Kakashi thought. He peered over his Icha-Icha-Paradise and spotted only 2 heads. No pink hair.

"_Well this is strange." _He thought_ "Did something happen after the party?" _

Everyone stared in silence at each other for 10 min. Well ok, not EVERYONE. Naruto wouldn't stop voicing his thoughts about what happened to the missing "Sakura-chan".

"It's all YOUR fault!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke as he came up with a yet another theory. "You looked pretty cozy walking down the street with her last night. Uh-huh. Your hands wrapped all around her like a Ramen noodle on my spoon! Hina-chan and I saw you! Datebayo! You probably couldn't control yourself and now she's pregnant! I can't believe you Teme! And after all that talk of how you have absolutely NO romantic feelings for her. You sly, deceiving bastard!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs. "I can't believe you 'de-flowered' Sakura-chan!" Sasuke growled at him threateningly "Doooobe!" Kakashi also couldn't help but laugh. "_Sasuke? Yeah right! When pigs fly! Ok. Well a LITTLE earlier"_ he laughed to himself.

Just then small cherry blossoms started falling all around them. It was a gorgeous sight! Then they started dancing around and forming a whirl and Sakura seemed to materialize right in front of them. Now THAT's cool! They all stared at her for a second, trying not to drool.

"_Get yourself together! She's your __student__ for crying out loud!"_ Kakashi tried to reason to himself _"Oh jeez. I'll be thrown in jail if this continues." _

"_Hina-chan. I love Hina-chan. Hina-chan. Hina-chan. Hina-chan. GAH! Sakura why do you do this?!" _Naruto cried in his head.

"_Damn. When did Sakura get so hot?! No! Bad thoughts! Uchiha's must be strong! Must. Be. S-s-trong. Must. Ssstttrrong. She. Must. Sexong. She. Is. Sexy. O.O No! Not sexy! Strong! Uchiha's must be strong! Control." _

As the men battled their inner demos….errr…hormones, Sakura spoke up.

"Sorry I'm late. I got lost in my closet." Naruto burst out laughing, sasuke stared at her in slight disbelief and Kakashi almost fell of the railing. "_Wow. I'm really rubbing off. Hahahaha"_

After Naruto's outburst of laughter he cried

"Lia…!" but suddenly stopped.

"Wait, are you serious?!" Both Naruto and Kakashi asked.

"Does it LOOK like I'm joking?" Sakura glared at all 3 of them.

"Ehe ehehe. Guess not." Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey Sakura-chan you ok? You look a bit…different." Naruto tried to carefully choose his words. Sakura looked royally pissed right now.

Sakura "affectionately" draped an arm over Naruto though you could tell he was slowly getting slightly blue from lack of oxygen. "I'm dandy Naruto. Why wouldn't I be? It's not like I'm mad at anyone. No one insulted me or anything. It's not like my sleep was terrible or my head hurt like a bitch. But thanks for caring. You should re-direct that attention to Hina-chan though." She practically growled.

"_Wow. OK then. Remind me not to cross you." _Kakashi thought.

"Are we gonna stand around all day or are we going to actually train?" Sakura asked irritated.

"Well we were waiting for you to show up before we sta..." Sasuke began

"Shut up! No one asked you. Did it LOOK like I was talking to you." Sakura snapped at him.

"_Ooookk. So maybe she DOES remember last night. I better actually apologize now" _

"Look Sakura…" he began again.

"I said Shut up! My head hurts and you're annoying me!"

_O.O Did Sakura just snap at Sasuke?! Twice?! _

Naruto and Kakashi stared in disbelief; even Icha-Icha-Paradise was forgotten.

"Alright alright, let's get to training and THEN rip each other's heads off. Shall we?" Kakashi asked; more like stated.

"Gladly" Sakura waltzed to the middle of the training ground. The tree med stared after her.

"_She's not seriously thinking of training in THAT outfit? IS she?_

"Hello!" Sakura shouted. Sasuke and Naruto moved out to the field. "Go!" Kakashi yelled. And they all disappeared in a blur only for Sasuke and Naruto to come slamming into the ground a few minutes later with Sakura jumping after them. Then the fight got hand to hand. In the midst of the fighting, Genma appeared to pass on a message that the Hokage wants to see Sakura. No sooner has he looked up as he started lightly bleeding from the nose. Kakashi just padded his shoulder lightly.

"I know my friend. I know."

"It should be illegal to be that gorgeous. And it is SO not regulation dress."

They both smirked at each other; like they'd ever tell. perverts cough

"You came to pass on a message right?" Kakashi asked "Then go before you become anemic and need a blood transfusion." Kakashi laughed at Genma.

Genma playful growled at him. "I'll make sure to visit you in jail" he smirked.

"Hey Sakura," Genma called, not really wanting to get in the middle. For the first time Uchiha Sasuke was being **pummeled**. Along with Naruto. SIMULTANIOUSLY! Sakura looked like she was just venting her anger. "_Note to self: DON'T cross Haruno Sakura" _Genma thought. The beatings stopped and Sakura walked over, already healing herself. Seemingly out of nowhere, Sakura pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to Genma's nose. "Here" She rolled her eyes. Kakashi started laughing at Genma and he just glared back. Sakura started seductively walking away, after a few steps she turned back around hearing Kakashi's laughter. "Don't worry Kakashi. I didn't forget you. I'll visit you in jail." She smirked. Now it was Genma's turn to laugh at Kakashi. After that training was over, mostly because Sasuke and Naruto were way too beat up to continue.

Sakura walked to the Hokage tower. She finally admitted that what Sasuke said last night was really bugging her. "_I'm NOT weak damn it! And what the hell? How am I annoying!? HE's the one who offered to take me home! Bastard!" _She stomped through the building and everyone made way for the angry konoichi.

Meanwhile in Tsunade's office she was sitting with Gaara (Kazekage) and discussing the upcoming mission. They heard some noises outside and then the door came flying straight off its hinges. Sakura held it for a second then put it back down grumbling "stupid door" under her nose.

O.O ….Tsunade sat there astonished. She couldn't believe that Sakura just took off her TRIPLE re-enforced door…as if it was NOTHING!! It wasn't only the strength but also the anger that Tsunade was surprised at. Sakura was ALWAYS polite no matter what and here she comes in like a Natural Disaster herself. Gaara was also staring at Sakura while Tsunade was lost in her thoughts. He hasn't seen her in more then 2 years. She was a pretty beautiful girl when he saw her but now she was downright sexy! But Gaara being Gaara didn't show any emotion. "What are YOU starring at?" Sakura snapped at him. At that moment Tsunade almost sprayed her paperwork with the sake she was drinking. Sakura didn't recognize that it was Gaara. He was dressed in normal clothes and she only spared him a 1-second glance. He was wearing a fishnet shirt (like her) and baggy black pants. He also had a black chocker around his neck.

"Sakura" Tsunade growled "this is Gaara, the **Kazekage**." She emphasized. Sakura blinked, then turned to Gaara…

"Oh. Sorry. Welcome to Kanoha."

That statement didn't seem so sincere coming from her.

"_Welcome indeed_" _chuckled Gaara to himself. _

Tsunade glared at Sakura. "_What is Wrong with this girl today?" _She inwardly sighed.

"Sakura, I want to discuss with you your mission. You see, there have been attacks on Gaara lately and so in order to protect him, Kankuro is disguised as him while the real Kazakage stays under our care here in Kanoha. That way Kankuro has to only care about looking like Gaara and staying safe and Gaara only has to worry about paperwork and whatnot. Not both safety and work." Sakura blinked at her.

"I fail to see your point"

"_Well that was….rude" _Tsunade thought. She growled a little. _I'll have a little talk with you later. _

"My POINT, is that he will be your charge. You'll have to take care of him as you're our best medic. You'll have to help him with whatever he needs. Physical, mental, err…emotional?? needs and…"

"Prevent it. Stop it. Fix it. Yeah yeah I got." Sakura waved Tsunade off. "Where is he staying?" Tsunade was afain annoyed by the interruption. She tried to keep her cool, obviously there was something bothering her. She'd have to find out later.

SORRY for the TERRIBLE ending. My parents are yelling for me to get off. I'll Update REALLY soon. PROMISE!

PLEASE REVIEW!!


	2. Attitude

Tsunade smircked. "Well dear Sakura, he'll be staying with YOU. He needs care 24/7 and that's the only way he'll get it."

"Didn't you say that Kankuro is pretending to be him? So why would he need care 24/7? I doubt he's incompetent." Sakura scoffed.

"_Well I guess that was a semi-complement at Gaara" _Tsunade looked displeased.

"Where are your robes anyway? Did the Suna wind just blow them right off?" Sakura asked, faking curiosity combining it with a scoff. Tsunade just stared. _Did sweet little Sakura just insult the __Kazekage__?!_

"Oh wait" Sakura continued "Ino was your escort right? I bet you just couldn't keep them on around her could ya?" Sakura chuckled. "But I suggest you stay away from her. She belongs to Shikamaru." Gaara lightly twitched.

Tsunade growled at her. "No Sakura. He had to pretend to be a normal person in order for the identity switch to work." Tsunade was SO close to blowing up.

"Eh. Whatever. I really don't care. Just don't touch any of my clothes." Sakura pointedly looked at Gaara's fishnet shirt.

Tsunade was flabbergasted. _She just __insulted__ him! _

"Anyway, Don't worry Tsunade-Shishu (sp?) I won't let you down on this." Sakura managed a small smile. "I never do" She added quietly. There was a little sadness in her eyes. But it was gone as soon as it came.

"C'mon Gaara. Lets go see your new, humble abode."

As they arrived at Sakura's house Gaara couldn't help but smirk. _"__Humble__?! This is almost as big as my Kazekage mansion back in Suna. This girl sure is interesting." _

Sakura walked him up the stairs. "There's 7 guest bedrooms, take your pick." Sakura waved her hand.

The remaining of Shikaku decided to surface in Gaara and before he could stop himself he blurtd out "I can see myself getting comfortable sleeping with you."

Sakura was shocked for a second. _Since when was Gaara a perv? _And Gaara proceeded to mentally slap himself and growl in annoyance at Shikaku. Sakura just fake smiled WAY too sweetly at him.

"And I can see you getting comfortable sleeping outside, chained to a metal pole, like a bad dog, if you ever try anything like that!"

"_In the past 30 minutes that I've know her, she has managed to… _

_1) Disrespect me_

_2) Diss me _

_3) And now she __Threatens __me!_

_That's more then anyone has done in my entire life!_

"Go wash up and come downstairs" Sakura interrupted his thoughts.

Sakura came downstairs and brewed some tea for them. She looked into her fully stacked fridge but she just didn't feel like making anything. Gaara came downstairs and slightly leaned against the wall.

"What do you want for dinner?" Sakura asked.

Gaara didn't really know. He was about to shrug and tell her 'what ever is fine' but she interrupted him.

"You know what I don't really care what you want." Gaara raised his eyebrows at her?

"_THIS is called 'taking-good-care' of me?" _

"I don't feel like making anything. We can order in." Sakura went to pick up the phone to order some food while Gaara just sat in the kitchen looking at his surroundings.

After ordering Sakura went upstairs for a few minutes leaving Gaara alone. The food arrived and the delivery ninja kept ringing the bell. It didn't look like Sakura was going to get it. "_What am I - a maid now?!" _Gaara scoffed. He opened the door and handed the money that Sakura left on the table by the entrance. The girl handed him his food and smirked seductively at him.

"Will that be all sir? Would you like something else for your dinner? After entertainment perhaps?" She purred at him. Gaara just slammed the door in her face.

"_Sakura is SO dead for leaving him with this" _he thought.

Shikaku laughed. _"Oh c'mon. Your killing-for-fun days are over, remember? Plus, you can't kill a beauty like her! That would be a sin!" _

"_Shut-up! Gaara growled."_

"_Oh please like you wouldn't want to see how she looks wrapped up in your sheets or…"_

"_I told you to shut up!" Gaara growled back._

Just then Sakura came down stairs. She took out the food she ordered for herself, 2 plates, a fork, spoon, and was heading back upstairs.

"_Oh no she doesn't! She's still in trouble," _Gaara was about to stop her but she turned around a lightly glared at him.

"Don't look at me. Don't touch me. Don't talk to me. Don't bother me. Good night." With that she turned on her heel and went upstairs to her room. Gaara was left standing there in surprise/annoyance.

"_I can't believe she just walked away from me. No one ever dares to walk away."_

Shikaku chuckled. _"Well there's a first time for everything." _

_Sorry for the short chapter guys. I have to go to the hospital now. (Volunteer) See you soon!_

_**Please review!!**_


	3. Bonding

**Thanks guys for all of your AWESOME reviews**

**Thanks guys for all of your AWESOME reviews!! I know Sakura was OOC but that was the point! :)**

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BTW… The characters are about 17 years old. Sound good? lol

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Sakura woke up the next morning feeling a lot better. She sat in bed just thinking things through in her head. Suddenly she jumped out of her bed feeling determined.

"_You know what?! I don't care what Sasuke says. That night was the last straw. Who cares what he thinks? What's important is that __**I**__ know that I'm not weak, and …err…only SLIGHTLY annoying. But that's called happiness and emotions not annoyance. Whatever. I'll show him!" _Sakura thought. She glanced at her clock, _"wow, it's this late already; I better get ready" _she thought. She went into the bathroom to wash up, came out and stopped dead in the middle of the room. A momentary confusion flooded her face, "_what shall I wear __today__?" _she pondered. She went into her closet and pulled out a dress, again TOTALLY NOT regulation appropriate. The dress went mid-thigh and the skirt part of it looked like a school girl skirt. When you twirl it poofs out. Cute :) It's sleeves almost reached her elbows.

It was Black with a Red and Gold dragon design on it. The dragon started at the bottom corner and wound all the way up around the body. Its head lay in the front under her right shoulder, holding a rose in its mouth.

Sakura put on some eyeliner, ran a brush through her silky hair and smiled at the reflection. She definitely liked what she saw. She went downstairs to prepare breakfast.

As she got downstairs she saw that there were men's shoes lined up next to hers, for a moment she tensed but then remembered yesterday's happenings and how Gaara was now under her care . As the day ran through her head Sakura, momentarily, felt bad for acting so…bitchy…is the only word she could think to describe her behavior. _"He'll just have to get over it and deal. HE'S the one who tried to KILL me a few years ago Hmpf" _with that Sakura disappeared into the kitchen. She hasn't had chocolate chip pancakes in a really long time, and she was dying for some.

Gaara finally got out of bed. Even though Shikaku was extracted out of him, he still couldn't get use to sleeping properly. (Although there was still enough of him to make his presence know and voice his perverted ideas.) He spent his night fully awake, and if he was un-lucky enough to fall asleep he would toss and turn the whole time.

" _Stupid raccoon. Stupid Akatsuki, if you're gonna kill me to get the monster, at least to it properly!"_ Gaara thought. He dragged himself to the bathroom and to change. He wore a tight black shirt that emphasized all his muscles and some black baggy pants. There was some kind of silver design on his shirt. To him it looked like squiggles, but cool none the less.

When he was done he just stood in the middle of his room, staring at the door, and contemplating whether he should go down or not. It's not like he was scared of Sakura it's just that that girl was unbelievable. Well, her temper was unbelievable. How was he supposed to survive with her? Or more appropriately, how was he suppose to survive without killing HER? But he was still hungry. After the whole ordeal with the delivery girl and Sakura treating him like the Plague, his appetite was pretty much gone and he went to bed on an empty stomach. He wasn't gonna stand here like an idiot, especially if it means listening to his own growling stomach so Gaara swung the door open and headed downstairs.

When Gaara walked into the kitchen he saw Sakura bustling around, for a second he was surprised she didn't lash out at him for simply being alive and breathing in her kitchen. Over the years he's heard some things about her as people from Kanoha, cough Naruto , told him about the village back home and the ever-so-sweet-and-friendly medic nin/friend Sakura.

"Y_eah. She's the epitome of sweetness alright." _Gaara sarcastically thought. He stayed against the wall for a little bit and watched Sakura rush around. He stared at her clothing; Black looks really good on her he decided. That short, cough sexy cough dress was making him uncomfortable and hot, but he couldn't understand why. Shikaku said something about her looking extremely "yummy" as he put it, but Gaara didn't think that was it. He saw PLENTY of women (fan-girls) trying to show off their body to him in extremely skimpy clothes; but he was just revolted at the sight. So what makes Sakura different?" he pondered.

He left his thoughts and quietly moved to sit at the table. The second he sat down Sakura turned around with a smile on her face and brought him his breakfast. She leaned down to place it on the table and turned her head to him to speak; their face only a few centimeters away. Gaara instantly felt his cheeks heat up.

"_I have to make sure to later ask Sakura where the air conditioning is. I didn't think it could be this hot in Kanoha." _Gaara mentally noted. Shikaku just rolled his eyes and quietly (Gaara didn't hear) growled out "_Idiot!" _

Sakura placed the breakfast in front of Gaara and smiled at him.

"Good morning. I hope you found your sleeping arrangements comfortable. Have some fresh breakfast; we have a long day ahead of us. Since you're under my care you have to follow me everywhere I go."

"_What am I a puppy now? I'm a leader not a follower" _Gaara scowled to himself.

"Today is my day off and I haven't been at the mall in a long time, and since you probably didn't bring much stuff with you, it would be a perfect opportunity to get all we need" she smiled. Gaara looked down at his food, which was smiling at him too. He looked back at Sakura then down at the smiling Pancake. Then again at the smiling Sakura then back to the smiling pancake and bacon.

"_OK. She seems way too happy. She poisoned this didn't she?" _Gaara thought for an instant.

"Oh c'mon Gaara, it's not like I poisoned it." Sakura giggled. His eyes widened just a tiny bit as if her statement just proved her guilty. But he was interrupted when Sakura shoved her fork with some pancake and bacon into his mouth.

"Eat, I promise my cooking is good" she giggled again. Gaara had to admit, it really was good. He picked up his own fork and began eating. It was pretty quiet for the rest of the breakfast as they both enjoyed their…smiling food. When they were finished Sakura gathered the dishes and put them to wash.

"Alright. Let's go." Sakura stated as she put on her shoes. Gaara wasn't keen on the idea of shopping.

"_I'm not a girl" _he thought. His thoughts were interrupted by a pretty hard shove from behind; Sakura pushing him out the door.

"_What is this?!" _Gaara growled to himself. "_What is she DOING?! What is WRONG with her? First, she insulted me, then threatened me, and now she's getting physical? What's nex?t"_ Gaara grumbled.

"_Weeeeellll… that can result in 2 beds"_ Shikaku chuckled. _" 1) Your Death Bed or 2) The Bedr.."_

"_Don't even THINK about finishing that sentence you stupid raccoon" _Gaara growled. He wasn't gonna listen to the end of that, he walked out and slammed the door after himself.

Gaara and Sakura spent many hours at the mall. They bought everything: clothes, shoes, accessories, make-up, decorations for the house and even food and snacks.

As they were closely walking side by side down the street, and Gaara's sand was carrying their bags behind them, people were staring and murmuring amongst each other.

"Is that the Kazakage with his girlfriend?" they gushed

"Wow, look at the Haruno medic, she if fiiiine! I'd like some of that." a group of guys exchanged glances and some inappropriate hand gestures.

"Isn't that one of our medics with someone?" a group of women stared

whistle "Damn, look at that girl, she is HOT!" some of the guys laughed.

"Isn't that the Kazekage? OMG! He is soooo hot! Ewww, what is he doing with that chick?" some bitchy girls sneered.

"Eek. Look, it's Sakura! She's dating the Kazekage! They're so cute together! I can't believe she didn't tell us!" Some of the young nurses from the hospital gushed. They made a point to confront her about it later.

Gaara heard some of the comments and they were really irritating him. Sakura, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice. She looked at her watch and noticed it was already past four.

"Hey Gaara, do you want anything to eat for an early dinner?" she asked.

"Hn."

For a second Sakura stiffened. This was reminding her of a certain cold-hearted Uchiha and he was NOT on her 'favorites' list at the moment.

"Don't 'Hn' me! What the hell is that?! For all I know it could mean "No, I'd rather starve."

"……Yes" Gaara spoke gruffly.

"Yes, you'd rather starve? Or yes, you'd like some food?" By the playful glint in her eyes and the tiny smirk/smile playing on her lips, Gaara could see that Sakura was just playing with him.

"…Yes… I'd like some food." Gaara half growled half said.

Sakura giggled. He liked her giggle. It sounded genuine and happy.

Hmmm…happiness; something he's never truly known.

"Let's go have some ramen at the new café that opened up. I don't feel like Ichiraku's" Sakura said as they turned into a different street.

They sat down and a quaint little spot outside, ordered their meals, and sat in comfortable silence for their food. The waiter brought some drinks and shortly after that the food arrived. The food was really good at this café and Sakura was glad to have come here. They exchanged a few words here and there as they ate.

"_Gaara isn't much of a talker"_ she mused.

"_**You think?!" **_her inner scoffed _**"What gave it away? The brooding, emo look? Or was it the kill-for-fun attitude he had? Or the **__**less subtle**__** fact that he hasn't said more than 10 words during this whole dinner?" **_inner Sakura sarcastically voiced, rolling her eyes.

At this time Sasuke was walking down the street from the market, bringing home some fresh tomatoes, when he witnessed something very interesting. He saw a head of pink sitting with someone at a café. He walked up to get a closer look. There sat Sakura with…Gaara? And she was…laughing? Those two didn't really seem to mix. How can Gaara make someone laugh?! Then Sasuke's eyes widened.

Sakura sat slurping at her ramen noodles. She looked up to ask Gaara something but the instant she saw him all thoughts went out the window. There was Gaara, nibbling on a noodle, and when he moved his spoon away from his mouth, there was a noodle left hanging off. Sakura started giggling. He just looked so cute like that. It reminded her of Naruto when they were younger. She felt a bit nostalgic for those days; they were filled with happiness…mostly. But now Hinata just kisses those noodles right off. (She's gotten way more confident after she started dating Naruto) Although that little show of affection is still only in private and the only reason Sakura saw it is by accident.

Sakura couldn't control her giggle; Gaara just looked so funny with that noodle hanging off. Gaara on the other hand was staring at her oddly.

"_Why is she laughing? What is so god damn funny about eating Ramen? She better not be laughing at me." _Gaara thought.

"_**Oh yeah, it's definitely at you. I mean she's **__**looking**__** right at you." **_Shikaku jumped in.

What happened next was definitely surprising to Gaara and if he was anyone else, his eyes would have popped right to his forehead. Sakura grabbed a napkin, leaned across the table, and with its corner, carefully wiped the noodle away; brushing her fingers against his jaw in the process. A little jolt was sent through Gaara's body at her touch. Sakura smiled at him.

"Here you go. Hahaha. You're so funny Gaara."

"_Funny? No one has really praised me before, except for my Kazekage work, but that's basically their job."_

"_**Yeah, I'm confused too kid. I fail to see ANY humor in your personality. Maybe this girl mistook you for someone else. Like a dead-look-alike friend." **_Shikaku mused but Gaara just inwardly glared at him.

Meanwhile Sasuke couldn't believe what he saw. Sakura leaned across the table and seemed to stroke Gaara's face. "_What the hell?!"_ Sasuke thought. _"I can't believe Sakura just did that. What's more surprising is that Gaara didn't push her away with his sand. What the __hell__ is going on." _

_**SPLAT**_

While watching the two, Sasuke didn't realize that he was getting mad and with all the rage pumping through him, he squished the tomato in his hand that he was going to eat. He was now covered in the juice and had to get home quick before he got sticky and the stains on his clothes became permanent. Taking one last look (of rage) he headed home.

"_Why did that bother me_" he thought as he headed for the Uchiha mansion.

Gaara and Sakura finished eating and headed home; again people staring at them. _"Apparently Sakura doesn't know what 'space' is. She practically walking right next to me"_ Gaara freaked.

Shikaku rolled his eyes. **"You're an idiot! That's how ****normal**** people walk kid."**

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Ok. Sorry guys. The ending is CRAPPY I know, but I have to go. Next chapter is Movie night!! Ooh-la-la ; )

I'll update soon…promise!!

**PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	4. The movie

I don't own Naruto- Unfortunately. If I did I would already put them in pairs. Stupid unromantic, male, author. :p

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THANKS for the reviews! You guys are awesome!! You keep me going! Keep it up!

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I guess Gaara is a little OOC here. Maybe? Well c'mon. He's GOT to be warming up eventually. : D

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They came into the house and Sakura brought up 2 glasses of water for them

They came into the house and Sakura brought up two glasses of water for them.

"Today was great. Thanks Gaara" she smiled at him. "But I'm not ready to go to sleep yet. How about we watch a movie?" she asked, but didn't give him time to answer.

"It's perfect. But since I picked the activity you pick the movie." And then she disappeared into the kitchen to pop some popcorn then headed upstairs to change into some PJs.

Gaara sat in the living room. Sakura didn't really leave him a choice, although he could have walked out, but his legs just wouldn't take him.

"_Ugh."_ Gaara groaned. _"Fiiiine." _Sakura came back into the room with short pink shorts and a red tank top. Not exactly modest clothing. She saw the movie Gaara picked and her eyes grew wide.

"Please Gaara, not that. Naruto got me this and it's the scariest movie ever. I don't want to watch it" she pleaded, but Gaara wouldn't have any of it.

"If I have to endure this at least let the movie be scary." He told her.

Sakura sighed and settled herself on the couch next to him.

She wasn't kidding when she said she'd be scared. Sakura was sitting there with wide eyes and trembling a little.

'_Maybe she's cold' _Gaara reasoned.

'**Yeah. And I'm a cat.' **Shikaku sarcastically snorted.

'_Oh c'mon! She's a ninja and a medic! She's seen things WAY worse.'_

Suddenly, an extremely gruesome seen came on screen, with a blood curdling scream, Sakura jumper literally 2 feet off the couch and landed almost on top of Gaara. She DID pin his hand under her body though.

'**You were saying?**' Shikaku smirked.

A TINY chuckle escaped Gaara's lips. Sakura's reaction sure was funny, but his laughter didn't last long. His arm started feeling as if millions of needles were poking it. He realized Sakura has cut off his blood circulation and his arm was falling asleep.

'sigh'

Gaara tried to take his hand out but he couldn't.

'_what the hell, this girl is so light yet I can't get my arm from under her' _

Gaara looked up at Sakura so that he could tell her to move, or move her himself if necessary. As he turned his head around to face her properly he was shocked at what he saw. There sat Sakura with tears freely falling down her face and a glazed over look in her eyes. It seemed like she wasn't watching the movie anymore either.

'_Uhhhh, what…what happened? Why is she crying?'_

'**I don't know kid, it looks like something upset her'**

'_You didn't make me say anything stupid with out me realizing it, did you?!' _Gaara growled at Shikaku.

'**Not ****this**** time' **Shikaku answered.

"Ummm….Sakura?" Gaara asked cautiously. He's never really had experience dealing with crying girls. Begging victims – sure. A PMSing Temari – definitely. But not the sad type of crying. But seeing Sakura cry made him feel different. He, for the first time, felt useless. Gaara didn't know what to say, do, where to put his hands, anything! He felt like a fish out of water; awkwardly fidgeting around.

"Uhhh. Ummmm. Are…what…errr" Gaara tried to think what it is you're suppose to do to comfort a person. He wasn't having much luck in that department.

'**Ugh!' **Shikaku growled frustrated** 'at least ask what's wrong with her first you dolt!' **

"S-Sakura? What has upset you? Are you THAT scared of the movie, c'mon it's pathetic, not scary."

Shikaku gapped at Gaara.

'**You're suppose to sound concerned! Not like you are taunting her for being a cowardly chicken! You. Are. Hopeless!' **Shikaku wanted to slap Gaara.

Gaara growled. "I-I mean. What's wrong Sakura?" She was trembling like a leaf in the wind and the tears just seemed to stream down her face faster and harder. But now, she was whispering something under her nose.

"How could…" "Alone" "Pain" "I miss you" Gaara heard. He strained harder to hear her while putting his hand on her shoulder.

'_Seems like someone left her. Do you think she's talking about the Uchiha?' _Gaara felt a little ping of pain.

"How could they. They just left me. I'm so lonely. I can't stand being without them. This is so painful. I, I miss you so much." She lowered her head. "I can't bear seeing the images of your deaths, it makes my heart crack all over again." Gaara's body moved all on his own. He just took her arm into his and asked "Who Sakura? Who left you?" But he didn't hear the response. At that moment he glanced at their hands, just realizing that he took hold of her, and his throat tightened. There, on her wrists, were tiny little scars running across her pale skin.

'_Did she…did she try to…kill…herself?' _Gaara was in shock. Wasn't Sakura supposed to be a happy person? What brought on that kind of behavior? But as he looked at her wrists, he did feel a little better knowing that they weren't really fresh scars and that Sakura obviously hasn't done this in a while. He didn't know why that made him so relieved. But as he looked at her, he saw the extremely fragile side that she hid away, not the girl who sent the door flying off its hinges or threatened him. It reminded Gaara of someone, but he couldn't quite remember who.

Sakura slid from the couch and Gaara's grasp, onto her knees on the floor and buried her head in her hands.

"Oka-san. Otou-san. Why? Why were you taken from me? Especially in such a cruel way. And it was MY entire fault!" Sakura sobbed into her hands.

Gaara listened to her sobs and was a little shocked to find out that Sakura's parents were dead. He figured that she just lived separately from them and that they were somewhere else in the village. He was confused though. "_What does she mean by 'her entire fault'?" _Gaara glanced at Sakura and the TV caught his eye. (When Gaara tried to move his hand out from under her, he accidentally paused the movie.) The frame was frozen on a girl, bloody, bruised, and badly beaten. She was sitting next to a man and woman who seemed dead, and it looked like she, too, would be joining them soon. Gaara looked at Sakura. Had this scene triggered her breakdown?

He didn't know what to do, but he had to make her stop. He couldn't bare watching her fall apart like this. He slowly slid down to her level and tried to sooth her.

"_How the HELL am I suppose to do this?" _Gaara panicked.

'**You're asking the wrong person kid. Sarcasm is my forte, not this. Try holding her or something like that. Do whatever they do on TV." **

'_Not helpful, considering I don't watch TV much."_ Gaara bit back

Gaara raised his hand and put it on Sakura's back, rubbing it up and down slowly.

'_Uncle used to do this to me to calm me if I was ever upset…before he tried to kill me' _Gaara trailed off in his mind. Shikaku didn't say anything; the atmosphere is already filled with enough pain.

Sakura didn't seem to be getting any better. It's as if she didn't even feel his hand on her back. So with his other hand Gaara reached for Sakura's, so that he could hold it and somehow say something that could at least border compassion and help.

"Shhhhhh….it's ok Sakura. You're not alone. I'm right here with you. You hear me? You're not alone. And it wasn't your fault." Gaara had no idea what he was babbling to her but it seemed like finally, after 10 minutes of more intense crying, Sakura started to slowly calm down. But she was still borderline hysterical and fresh tears were constantly flowing down her face. Gaara finally stopped talking; he saw that there was nothing he would say to make her feel better. So he just sat there for a while, staring at their intertwined hands and looking at her scars; trying to figure out the whole, proper story.

"DOK"

Gaara felt a sudden addition of weight to his shoulder. He glanced up to the side and saw Sakura's head leaning on his shoulder and her hair stuck to her wet face. A few tears would still leak out from her eyes once in a while. Gaara just sat there frozen.

What was he suppose to do now?! They sat there for a few more minutes with Gaara just watching Sakura sleep on his shoulder.

'_I guess I can't leave her to sleep on the floor' _Gaara mentally noted. He turned around and swooped up Sakura into his hands then carried her into her bedroom.

For a summer night it was a bit too cold, and with Sakura's window being opened all this time, the room was quite chilly. Gaara looked down at Sakura, her skimpy PJ's, and the lack of a warm blanket on the bed; all she had was a thin sheet for cover. He didn't blame her, the summer was usually hot and even the thin sheet would be redundant. Gaara glanced around the room, but there was no blanket in sight.

'**She's gonna have one hell of a headache tomorrow' **Shikaku half-laughed

_'Well, since there's no blanket I guess she should be changed into warmer clothing_.' With that thought Gaara set to work.

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Hehe. Shakes head "Tsk. Gaara, Gaara"

What waits for him in the morning?! OO"

Yay. It's finally up. sorry for the wait.

**PLEASE REVIEW!!**


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